Florida's class of 2011 finally living up to its own freshman expectations

GAINESVILLE — The growing pains were well-documented – being locked out of their gym, called out by coach Billy Donovan and ending a streak of NCAA Tournament appearances.

But to hear forward Chandler Parsons tell it, there's plenty more that went into the development of this year's Gators seniors. What that was he wouldn't share, but the growth has been evident on the court.

Despite a series of obstacles — a few self-inflicted — Florida's seniors have arrived at the point they'd expected to reach years ago. Fresh off their first regular-season conference title, they enter the SEC Tournament hoping to add to the success that seemed elusive until this season.

"It feels great," said Parsons. "My freshman year was a real reality check. Coming in here, we thought we had everything figured out."

Tough act to follow

Coming in after the Gators won back-to-back national championships, the class of Parsons, Adam Allen, Nick Calathes, Jai Lucas and Alex Tyus expected to keep things rolling.

An 18-3 start their freshman year was just a tease as they lost six of their last nine games before a conference tournament first-round loss to Kentucky. Donovan kicked them out of the practice facility, banned them from wearing Gators attire and saw Florida's streak of nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances end as they made it to the semifinals of the NIT.

He drew criticism for a comment about not looking forward to them being sophomores. Donovan wanted them to be better, not just older.

"When they came in here after those two national championships, there was no doubt in their mind, they're cruising right to the same thing in 2008. It was just a very, very immature," Donovan said.

"They walked into the most difficult situation you could possibly walk into, and it was not their fault."

Changes came in their sophomore years, but success didn't. Lucas transferred to Texas, and Allen started a series of knee surgeries that ultimately ended his career. Another NIT bid followed, and Calathes left after the season to play professionally in Greece.

As juniors, they made strides. Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin gave them a post presence they had lacked. Despite another late-season slide, they made the NCAA Tournament.

"It was a celebration, too, but it was definitely a huge relief," said Allen. "Two years in the NIT, didn't want to move back there again."

Senior resilience

As Florida kept winning SEC games this year, Donovan praised his seniors—Macklin, Parsons, Tyus and even Allen, who has remained with the team—for how far they've come. After their sophomore season, they took a hard look at what they needed to improve. They were resilient, Donovan said.

"I felt that the last two years, our team was really moving in the right direction," he added. "I thought two years before that, we were not moving in the right direction."

Making the tournament is no longer the concern. Most projections have the Gators (24-6, 13-3) as a No. 3 seed, regardless of whether they claim a tournament title this week. Of course, they're still hoping for that same goal they've had for years.

"We started off rough. We obviously didn't want to go to the NIT or stuff like that," Parsons said. "This year we have an opportunity to end it the right way and get some championships."